Sea Swells December 2010 Issue

8/8/2019 Sea Swells December 2010 Issue

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As I sit down to write my

last Anchorline articleand reflect back on this past

year, I find it hard to believe ithas gone by so fast (especially

last week on the Aqua Cat). I

am truly honored to have beengiven the chance to serve as

the president of The Scuba

Sports Club, which has been in

existence for almost 40 yearsserving the local dive commu-

nity.

First I want to thank all the

past-presidents that have

served to shape our club into

what it is today. Much haschanged over the years but theprimary goal has always re-

mained the same; to serve lo-

cal divers and our community

from Westchester and sur-rounding counties. Our foun-

ders have even gone on to cre-

ate Beneath the Sea, whichbrings together divers from

around the world every yearfor one weekend in March.

Next I would like to thank all

members of the board thatworked together with me to fill

the 2010 calendar with a

healthy mix of dive opportuni-

ties, social events and somepure adrenaline pumping ac-

tivities.

But most of all we all need to

thank you the members ofTSSC, who support us in all

we attempt to do, whether its

ANCHOR LINE 1

DIVE LOG 1:NY Aquarium Expedition

2

LOOK!Sea Stories 2010

2

DIVE IN:

2010 Dive ScheduleLocal Dive Shops

6

CLUB NEWS:ActivitiesSocial Events & ProgramList of 2010 Directors

7

BTS NEWS:BTS 2011 Information

7

ON-LINE:Eco-Friendly Dive Gear?

8

PROGRAM NOTES:January: Lenny Speregen

8

DIVE LOG 2:TSSC Takes OverThe AquaCat

3

HONORS & AWARDS:Holiday Party Recap

4

In This Issue:a well planned event or an off-the-cuff last second get-together. Whats most impres-

sive to me is that when a callfor support, whether it may be

a question on the email list, to

donate to help feed a familyduring the holidays or a beach

cleanup, TSSC shows up in

force to pitch in.

Looking forward to next yearthere will be a healthy mix of

board members between ex-

perienced and new volunteers.Those with the experience not

only know what worked out

well for us these past fewyears, but also what couldhave been better. Trust me

when I tell you that when

things do not go as planned,

they are reviewed and the dis-cussions start on how to put

together a better event next

time.

What I find most exciting arethe new additions to the TSSC

Board of Directors that nextyears president and vice presi-

dent, Nick Lappano and De-

nise Kurz have been able toassemble. They include mem-

bers that have been around for

a while serving for their first

time and some brand newmembers that have agreed to

join and serve. It will be theseboard members that will bring

new ideas to TSSC on how tomake our club even better for

the next generation of divers.

December 2010

Welcome to the December 2010 issue of

the Sea Swells Log! At the end of November 20+

TSSC members dove with

AquaCat Cruises in the Baha-

mas. It was a very successful

trip, and we enjoyed great dives

and the company of our buddies

and the boat crew. An account

of the trip is included in this

newsletter. The trip is also the

reason why this issue of the

SeaSwells Log is published

AFTER our December meeting

and holiday party.

We thank Dr. Jen Fu for his

presentation on diving with

disabilities in November, and

Dennis Chamberland for shar-

ing his vision of undersea colo-

nization of Aquatica in Decem-

ber.

The best wishes for the

Holidays and a happy

New Year!

See you in January 2011!

Visit Our Website At: www.thescubasportsclub.org

Looking BackAt 2010

Enjoy the rest of the Holi-

days and have a Happy New Year! I am looking forward

to 2011 at The Scuba Sports

Club and diving often witheveryone again.

Jim Sacci2010 President
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/


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Page 2 December 2010 Sea Swells Log

Being a scuba diver continues toopen a world of opportunity and

experience as I practice this excitingsport. For several years I have been

fortunate to be part of the New York A q u a r i u m v o l u n t e e r d i v e

team. Members come from diverse

walks of life. They include computer

programmers, social workers, scien-

tists, healthcare providers, businesspeople, etc... What this diverse group of

people have in common is a love of theocean, a love of scuba diving, and a

commitment to the venerable New

York Aquarium. Recently members ofthe dive team made their third

dive expedition. The destination is onemany members of the Scuba Sports

Club are intimately familiar with. The

island of Cozumel.

Our base of observations for the

week was Scuba Club Cozumel. The

week would be filled with encounterswith many diver favorites; including

hawksbill turtles, Caribbean reef squid,black grouper and the endemic animal of

Cozumel, the splendid toadfish. Thereefs of Cozumel appeared particularly

healthy, teaming with large schools of

reef fish. Night dives off the resort pier

were full of encounters with yellow tail

stingrays, sea horses, spotted morays,

New York Aquarium2010 Dive Team Expedition

and sleeping reef fish. I was particu-

larly surprised by the amount of lion-

fish encountered while diving. Theywere seen on every dive. Our divemasters were very practiced

in dispatching these invasive preda-tors, many using hand made inven-

tions. Everyone on the trip had anenjoyable time. We are already look-

ing forward to our 2011 expedition.

The New York Aquarium volunteer

dive team can be a gateway to adven-tures such as these. For more infor-

mation see http://www.wcs.org/

g e t i n v o l v e d / v o l u n t e e r s /

nyaquarium/60537 .

For more information about Scuba

C l u b C o z u m e l s e e h t t p : / /

www.scubaclubcozumel.com/

Allan Rios

By

Allan

Rios

This past November, a spe-

cial event took place at the

Explorer's Club in Manhat-

tan. On a fall weekend, the

venerable institution was

once again the scene of a

gathering of the best ocean

explorers and scientistsfrom around the world. The

reason was the yearly "Sea

Stories" event that is now a

must go event for any

scuba diver with a yearn to

learn and explore.

Photographers Joe Romeiro and

Amos Nachoum graced us with dra-

matic images of sharks, whales,

and leopard seals. Shipwreck explor-

ers Heather Knowles, David Cald-

well, Kim Fisher, Steve Gatto and

Tom Packer regaled us with tales of

maritime disasters and treasure

hunting. TSSC friend Dr. Richard

Cooper was also there, updating au-

dience members with his pro-

gress on Seabase 1.

For those TSSC members

who attended it was an

opportunity to mingle

with the very best of the

adventurers and explor-

ers that are found in div-

ing and exploration to-

day.

For more information see

www.explorers.org.

I will definitely be there

next year!

Allan Rios

Sea Stories 2010By

Allan

Rios
http://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AEhttp://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AEhttp://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AEhttp://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AEhttp://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AEhttp://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537%E0%A0%AE


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December 4th finally arrived andwith it The Clubs trip to the Ba-

hamas. The seed for this trip wasplanted way back in March at Beneath

the Sea. Joann took the lead in promot-ing the trip and getting the information

out to the members who handled their

own reservations, etc.

Twenty one Club members converged on

Nassau, flying out from various airportsin the Metropolitan area. I flew out of

JFK at 9:59AM on JetBlue. After a

flight of about 2 hours we toucheddown in Nassau. Clearing immigration

and claiming our bags went smoothlyand shortly thereafter we were on the

bus provided by AquaCat tours. It took

about 20 minutes to reach the boat atParadise Island. Our bags were then

taken aboard and stored on the DiveDeck until we were allowed to board at

6PM. Some of us took advantage of the

time to do a little sightseeing or simply

hung out at the outdoor bar in the Ma-rina.

At 6 PM we boarded the AquaCat to

begin our week at sea. We assembledour dive gear and had dinner (one of

many excellent meals which we would

enjoy during the week), stowed our stuff

in our cabins and attended an orienta-tion briefing to learn about how the ship

operated and what to do in case of vari-

ous emergencies. We also found outwhat the daily routine would be like:

Breakfast at 7:30

1st dive at 8:302nd dive at 10:30

Lunch at 12:303rd dive at 2:00

4th dive at 4:00Dinner at 6:30

Night Dive at 8 PM

These times would vary somewhatfrom day to day, but this represents

what the basic schedule would be.

Our bags were transported to some

mysterious location and all wasready for a week of adventure.

I shared a cabin with Bob, Dan and

Dennis who were kind enough to

tolerate my penchant for going tosleep late and getting up early. We

were the only ones to share a cabinin quad format and it went quite well

once we figured out where we could

stash all of our junk.

At about 5AM the engines were

started and the ship headed out tothe Exuma Cays where we would be

making most of our dives. I think thesound of them woke just about every-

one, but most of us settled back to

sleep after the initial interruption.

At 7:15 breakfast was served, fol-lowed by a dive orientation which

told us about the protocols which

would guide us through our diving

activities for the week. The briefingwas thorough and informative but

also loose and relaxed. I was happy

to see that the Scuba Police wouldnot be with us. Make no mistake, the

crew was professional and our safetywas their primary concern, but they

would also let us do our own thing.

Continued Page 4

After this orientation, the briefing for ourfirst dive at Dog Rocks Wall was held on

the Alfresco Deck, above the Dive Deck.This process would be repeated many

times during the week. The divemasterleading the dive would draw a diagram of

the dive site which showed everything we

needed to know to successfully dive.

These diagrams were also pretty humor-ous at times with amusing caricatures of

the underwater denizens. Within 10 to 15minutes of the briefing the first divers

splashed into the clear blue water and our

week of diving had begun.

On that first dive and thereafter we would

see most of the fish which one would ex-pect in the waters of the Caribbean al-

though strictly speaking the Bahamas are

north of the Caribbean Sea and actually

located in the Atlantic east of southernFlorida. We all noticed the quantity and

size of the lionfish which were much largerthan those which I had observed in other

areas such as Bonaire, Roatan and TheKeys. I wonder how the proliferation of

this voracious invader has affected the

quantity of fish which we encountered. I

can certainly vouch for their healthy appe-tite as I witnessed them devouring smaller

fish on several occasions.

Some of the sites were bordered by drop-

offs some of which plunged off into thedepths. It was quite thrilling to look out

over the wall into the deep blue. There

were also numerous channels and a num-ber of swim throughs which made the

dives interesting.

TSSC Takes OverThe AquaCat!
http://www.aquacatcruises.com/


4/8


After diving, we took off our scuba units

and left them at our seats. The crew

sprang into action to fill our tanks for thenext dive, using numerous fill whips

which enabled them to reload our cylin-

ders with regular or enriched air.(Speaking of the tanks, aluminum 63s,80s and a few 100s were available.) With

this arrangement, we never had to disas-semble our gear for the whole week. We

would simply take it off, leave it at our

station and it would be ready to go for thenext dive.

Speaking of go, we were all responsible

for our own roll call.

A tag with each of our names was placedon a board on the Dive Deck. Before en-

tering the water or going on one of theexcursions we would place our tags on

another board and return it to the Onthe AquaCat board upon our return.

We would usually dive a site and then

cruise to the next site which would be

within 30 to 90 minutes away. Longerdistances were usually traveled in the

early morning as the engines could bepowered up in the early morning and we

would be at the new dive location in timefor the first dive at 8:30. Because of the

numerous shallow reefs we would not

usually travel in the dead of night when

there was no light.

The schedule was pretty non-stop and we

visited many of the Exuma Cays and

dove 20 different sites.At Cut Thru City some of us were thrilledto encounter wild porpoises on the on the

dive (As I was at another area of the site,I missed them.).

At Split Coral Head a medium sized Ti-

ger Shark joined us for an afternoon visit.

(I missed that too since I was again some-where else on the site.)

At the twin sites of Danger and Amber-jack Reefs we were treated to numerous

Caribbean Reef Sharks on two dives. We

swam with these graceful predators in anatural environment which was an ex-

tremely stimulating experience.

In addition there were several excur-sions, using the ships inflatable chase

boat, Magic, which provided an alterna-tive to diving.

Among these was a visit to a small

beach on Allens Cay where some of us

interacted with and fed the rare rockiguanas. These creatures had become

acclimated to the presence of humansand eagerly came out to be consume the

handouts offered to them.

On another occasion, some of the groupwent fishing from Magic. Although

their success at catching anything was

limited, a good time was had by all.

Almost everyone went on the shore ex-cursion to Exumas Land & Sea Park

where we followed the same paths whichpirates had walked several centuries

ago. The vistas were breathtaking.

There were also some interesting pic-tures taken which will hopefully never

be distributed for public consumption.

Most of the night dives were made atthe site of the last day dive which made

for an interesting contrast. However, onone of the night dives we encountered

swarms of Sea Wasps, a type of box jel-lyfish. Only three of us dove that night.

My two companions, Alex and Charlie,

made it through the gelatinous crea-tures without any issues but this was

one creature encounter which I did not

miss as I was stung on my lips, ankles

and the area of my face not covered bymy face and mask. Luckily these jellies

are much less toxic than their deadly Australian brethren and by the next

morning the pain had subsided.

This happened the day after one of our

dives provided an unexpected adventure

for seven of us when a mooring

shackle broke and the surface currentswept the boat away from us. Dan

made it back to the boat on his own,however the rest of us (Jim, Joann,

Charlie, Vreni, Pat and myself) had to

be rescued by Alex, the female dive-

master, using the AquaCats smalldinghy. No one panicked and despite

being very crowded on the small boat

we made it back to the Cat withoutany additional drama.

Another mishap of note occurre

when Cindy suffered some ill affectsafter our early dive on Thursday

morning. This was the one dive on

which we encountered somewhatrough seas as a front was moving

through the area. After spending the

day on oxygen she was transferred by

small boat back to Nassau on Fridaymorning where she had the pleasure

of taking a ride in the hyperbaric

chamber. Jim accompanied Cindy toand from the chamber. She returnedto the boat late Friday evening and

was feeling well enough to join us for

our evening dinner at the local Fish &Fry. However, Cindy was not allowed

to fly for 72 hours. Charlie kindly vol-unteered to stay with her in Nassau.

By Friday afternoon, our bags had

reappeared and before retiring for thenight we started (or finished) packing

for our departure the next morning.

On Saturday we left in two groups at

8:30: and 11:00 to head to the airportto return home. There are US Cus-toms agents at the Nassau airport

and the first group, which I was in,was able to check in, clear security

and pass through US Customs in less

than 45 minutes. It was really

painless. We hung out in the airportfor a couple of hours trading tales and

reminiscing about the weeks experi-

ences before boarding our returnflights to the US.

Like all previous Club trips which I

had been on it was a great experiencewhich was made expo-

nentially better by

sharing it with such a

great group of people.

Nick Lappano

TSSC Takes Over,continued


5/8


What happens when you put 35

scuba divers in a room with a fire

blazing in the hearth, videos running onthe big screen, a buffet of scrumptiousfood, and holiday cheer?

Pandemonium ensues, of course, but a

happy one! December 8th marked TSSCsannual Holiday Party, and what an event

it was! 35 club members responded to theinvitation to celebrate the season, enjoy-

ing the camaraderie of like-minded indi-

viduals.

Apropos individuals: nobody can ever say

scuba divers are dull. Just look at theenergy and creativity poured into cos-

tumes, desserts, awards, songs, photosand videos we enjoyed last night! There

was a contest for most creative holidaycostumewon by our future social direc-

tor Tabitha Constantino for her flashing

solar Santa-esque outfit (it helped thatshe screamed the loudest during judg-

ing). She also won the best song contest(though hers was the only song)! The

most creative dessert category was wonby yours truly for a gingerbread shark

with vanilla-rum icing! Though I must

admit there were many other, very crea-

tive and delicious desserts on offer

the competition was fierce!

During the course of the evening a

number of other awards was handedout:

Denise Kurz, who also celebrated herbirthday on the same day, was the

overall winner of the 2010 First DiveStory Telling Contest and she re-

ceived the 2010 SeaSwells Award forher contribution. Vreni Roduner,

Bernie Schmitt and Fred Gambinotied for second place.

Tom Butcher was honored as the

2010 Newcomer of the Year.

Cindy Fisher received not one, but

two awards: one, the AquaCat Iron

Woman Award, as well as the 2010Chamber Maid Award, thanks toher selfless research into Bahamianrecompression medicine.

Susan and Louie Caputo were hon-ored with a Certificate of Apprecia-tion for their assistance at variousTSSC events.

And last, but not least, the results of

the TSSC Diver of The Year 2010were revealed. According to current

VP and next years president Nick Lap-

pano it was a close race between pro-

gram director Allan Rios and fellownominee yours truly, but in the end,

Allan Rios took the crown for his con-tinuing efforts to provide TSSC with

exciting programs at our membershipmeetings, involvement in various dive-

related and community causes. He wreceive his official award at Benea

The Sea next March, as well announ

his selected charity.

Congratulation to all the winners

Following the awards we were treateto an extremely interesting present

tion on planned undersea habitats bDennis Chamberland. His vision is

colonize the bottom of the sea, a thre

dimensional region he calls AquaticThe slide show provided an overview

the preliminary stages of the prograas well as future plans for a perm

nent, modular underwater habitat. place to bring kids and pets, as well;

feasible sounding extension of Jacqu

Cousteaus dream of undersea coloniz

tion.

Of course, there was also a lively di

cussion of our recent AquaCat liveboard trip. Nick showed a selection

his photos, and we viewed th(hilarious) official AC video agai

However, this reporter feels that thphoto presentation was incomplete an

would like to add this very importa

image (the identity of the individuahas been protected):

No, there was no award for this, b

nevertheless, these (very anonymouguys truly deserve applause for bein

such good sports!

Thank you to everyone who made th

years holiday party special! It was great kick-off to the holiday seaso

Remains to be seen if we can top this next years event (no pressure at a

Tabby!)!

Happy Holidays!

Ruth Emblin


6/8

Club Dive Schedule

Date/Time: Location Description Contact/Organization

All dates and programs are subject to change without prior notice. For more details and updates, either contact

Jack Kurz or the dive coordinator shown, or refer to our website at www.thescubasportsclub.org .

LOCAL DIVE SHOPS - AT YOUR SERVICE

The listing of local dive shops is provided to you as a reference and public service.For each shops specialty, dive training and trip programs, please call or visit their website.

Captain Saams Scuba

School863 E Main St., Ste B

Stamford, CT 06902

Tel. 203-32 SCUBAwww.capt-saam.com

The Dive Shop439 Federal Rd.

Brookfield, CT 06804Tel. 203-740-9166

www.TheDiveShoponline.com

Pan Aqua Diving (2 locations):

460 W 43rd St., New York, NY 10036Tel. 212-736-3483

and461 Federal Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804

Tel. 203-775-3573www.panaqua.com

Rex Dive Center

144 Water StreetNorwalk, CT 06854

Tel. 203-853-4148

www.rexdive.com

Cougar Sports

917 Saw Mill River Rd.Ardsley, NY 10502Tel. 914-693-8877

Durland Scuba Committee

& School

Venture Crew #53

35 East Grassy Sprain Rd. Ste 204Yonkers NY 10710

Tel 914-961-1263

http://www.durlandscuba.org


Aqua Visions Scuba118 West Boston Post Road

Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Tel. 914-381-1884

www.aquavisions.biz

Ski and Scuba Connection26 Saint Roch Ave

Greenwich, CT 06830

Tel. 203-629-4766

www.skiandscubaconnection.com

2037 Central Park AveYonkers, NY 10710

Tel. 914-779-2966

and

2672 Gerritsen AveBrooklyn, NY 11229

Tel. 718-769-0099www.scubany.com

Captain MikesDiving School530 City Island Ave

City Island, NY 10464

Tel. 718-885-1588

www.captainmikesdiving.com

Abyss Scuba222 E Main Street

Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

914-244-3483

www.abyss-scuba.net

Marsh Scuba Supply93 Lauer Rd.

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Tel. 845-452-8994

www.marshscuba.com

See you in 2011!
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/


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Whos Who at TSSCin 2010


Executive Director: Bill NoelDive Planning: Jack KurzEducation/Safety: Bob BakEnviro/Legislative: Peter Peale

President: Jim Sacci

Vice President: Nick Lappano

Treasurer: Cindy Fisher

Secretary: Joann Bohannon

Director At Large: Michael Noel

Membership: Denise Kurz

Newsletter: Ruth Emblin

Webmaster: Jim Sacci

Program: Allan Rios

Social: Judy Simek

Legal Advisor: Robert Schrager

Founder: Armand Zigahn

Co-Founder: Soliman Shenouda

List Maintenance: Anne Judge

Note:

Programs may change without prior notice. Seewww.thescubasportsclub.orgfor updates.

SOCIAL &

EVENTS

2011

For details on individualevents, please go to

www.thescubasportsclub.org

Date Description

March

25-27,

2011

BENEATH THE SEAMeadowlands Expo

Center

Secaucus New Jersey

Directors Meeting:Wed, Dec. 1st, 2010 at 7 pm, loc. TBA

General Meeting:

Wed. Dec. 8th, 2010, at 6.00 pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

TSSC Holiday Party &Dennis ChamberlandAtlantica Expedi-

tions Leader, www.UnderseaColony.com

December Program

Directors Meeting:

Jan 4th or 5th (TBA), 2011 at 7.00 pm

General Meeting:Wed. Jan. 12th, 2011 at 7:00pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Lenny SperegenEquipment Specialist, Safety Diver

January 11 Program

TSSC Is The

Official Dive

Club

of

BENEATH THE SEA

The Largest ConsumerScuba & Dive Travel Show

in America

BTS is a not-for-profit corpora-

tion dedicated to increasing

awareness of the earth's oceans

and the sport of scuba diving.

As an award-winning organiza-

tion, BTS helps promote environ-

mental conservation and the pro-

tection of marine wildlife through

grants to other nonprofit groups.

Through its international poster

contest for children, called Ocean

Pals, BTS helps educate children

on the wonder and delicate na-

ture of our oceans.

Beneath The Sea's annual exposi-

tion in March will feature semi-

nars and workshops, lots of great

door prizes, a film festival show-

casing the work of world-

renowned underwater videogra-

phers, great parties, and exhibits

and demonstrations by hundreds

of manufacturers, dive clubs, dive

shops, resorts, and much more!

Early Bird Ticket Purchase:http://www.beneaththesea.org/tickets.html

Schedule of 2011 Workshops nowonline at:http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86887

Workshop Speaker Bios:http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86888

Transportation & Hotel Info:http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=862&linkkey=37744

General Information:

www.beneaththesea.org

Beneath The Sea will be held fromMarch 25th to 27th, 2011, at theMeadowlands Expo Center in Se-caucus, New Jersey.

See you inMarch 2011!

35th Anniversary

Beneath The Sea 2011
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.beneaththesea.org/tickets.htmlhttp://www.beneaththesea.org/tickets.htmlhttp://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86887http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86887http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86887http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86888http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86888http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86888http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=862&linkkey=37744http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=862&linkkey=37744http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=862&linkkey=37744http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=862&linkkey=37744http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86888http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.aspx?id=86887http://www.beneaththesea.org/tickets.html


8/8


EDITORS NOTE:

This newsletter is a publication of The Scuba Sports Club of Westchester, NYIssue 12/2010 Material may not be reprinted without explicit permission by TSSC.

An instructor at the age of 22,Lenny attended Commercial Diving

School in 1979 and has worked in therecreational and commercial divingfield ever since. His list of clients in-

cludes the Diving Equipment MarketingAssociation, several local dive retail-ers, and several diving engineeringhouses in Connecticut. He is certifiedto work on nearly every brand of divingequipment currently on the market andhas over 20,000 repairs completed todate. He is also a member of the His-torical Diving Society and the NortheastEquipment Diving Group. Mr. Speregenhas performed on television and in the

Sea Swells Log, 20 Tinker Hl, Putnam Valley NY 10579 OfficialDive Club

The year 2010 is coming to a close

and I would like to thank everyone

who helped me maintain the standardof our newsletter, the TSSC SeaSwells

Log throughout the year. I enjoyedworking with you, and it was my pleas-

ure to publish your submissions, and

many very entertaining stories I re-ceived from you in the last few months.

Thank you again to the many memberswho entered this years Story Telling

Contest. We will have yet another one in2011, so dont just yet retire your pens,

or keyboards and mice! The theme will

be announced next spring, and I hope

you will find a little time to share yetanother stories with your fellow divers.

And if you have not entered any of our

former contestsit is about time! Wed

love to hear from you.Finally, I would like to wish you all a

very enjoyable holiday season and ahappy New Year!

See you in 2011!

RuthEditor

Is Eco-Friendly Dive Gear In Our Future?

I

dont usually promote specific prod-ucts in our newsletter, but as an eco-

conscious person I believe that the story

below merits a mention.Ive often looked at my gear and won-

dered how much of the materials used

in dive equipment or manufacturing

processes used are actually eco-

friendly. Other sports segments, such

as the ski and snowboard industry,

have begun working on sustainable

materials and reducing the carbon

footprint of their production. However,

you do not hear much about sustain-

ability in dive gear. Therefore I was

happy to read about one step in theright direction:

From DiverWire.com

In what is being billed as one of the

diving industrys first Eco-Friendly

product, Diving Unlimited Interna-

tional (DUI) has introduced a new un-

dergarment that is produced with 75

percent recycled materials.

DUI's ECODiveWear is made with

Polartec PowerDry and is designed to

be worn underneath the traditional

drysuit undergarment that divers typi-

cally wear in colder waters. The suit pro-vides added warmth and moisture-

wicking properties for divers.

According to Susan Long, DUI President,

Divers are very concerned about the

environment. We selected this particular

material to use in these liners as a way

to do something to continue to protect

our worlds resources.

Long said that to her knowledge, DUI is

the first company to introduce an eco-

friendly product, but that since it is

such an important concern, that others

in the dive industry would also likely

begin introducing eco-friendly products.

DUI's ECODiveWear dive-liners are not

only highly effective for scuba diving, but

the product can also be worn in other

recreational or outdoor environments.

For more details, visit the DUI website

a t h t t p : / / w w w . d u i - o n l i n e . c o m /

dw_ecodivewear.html

This is definitely a step in the

right direction. I hope that

other manufacturers will fol-

low suit in the near future.

movies as a stunt actor. His list ofcredits include Miami Vice, BetteMiddler's Artyfacts, NickelodeonsPete-n-Pete, as well as numerouscommercials. When he is not actu-ally underwater, you can find himat the local shop talking andbreathing diving, or customizingsome new piece of equipment.Mr. Speregen is an Associate mem-ber of The Undersea and Hyper-baric Medical Society.

Lenny SperegenEquipment Specialist, Safety Diver

L.S. Industries

January Program Notes:Lenny Speregen
http://www.dui-online.com/dw_ecodivewear.htmlhttp://www.dui-online.com/dw_ecodivewear.htmlhttp://www.dui-online.com/dw_ecodivewear.htmlhttp://www.dui-online.com/dw_ecodivewear.htmlhttp://www.dui-online.com/dw_ecodivewear.html

Documents

Sea Swells December 2010 Issue